Fuels: Prices

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of whether there is a correlation between the price of (a) petrol and (b) diesel and the levels of traffic accidents and car journeys in the UK.

Robert Goodwill: The Department’s modelling and appraisal guidance contains values to be used by transport modellers for realism testing for models (WebTAG unit M2:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/275597/webtag-tag-unit-m2-variable-demand-modelling.pdf
	see paragraph 6.4.14). The guidance on fuel cost elasticity is set at a decrease of 0.3% in traffic for a 1% increase in fuel cost. This value is based on a number of independent studies of transport demand. This is the value used in the National Transport Model and published in Road Transport Forecasts 2013:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-transport-forecasts-2013
	(see paragraphs 1.34 and 1.35 on page 14). This refers to fuel cost generally, the Department does not have estimates for petrol and diesel separately.
	The Department does not have quantified estimates of the relationship between fuel cost and accidents.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what anticipated construction costs of building High Speed 2 are for each year of its construction.

Robert Goodwill: The annual breakdown of the costs of HS2 up to the financial year 2020-21 is published in ‘Investing in Britain’s Future’, published in June 2013 at the time of Spending Round 2013. The precise details of future profiles for the period beyond 2020-21 will be set at future Spending Reviews.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date all properties in each local authority area affected by Phase 1 and Phase 2 of High Speed 2 or situated above the proposed tunnelled sections of High Speed 2 were purchased (a) under the HS2 Exceptional Hardship Scheme and (b) by compulsory purchase; and what was paid for each such property.

Robert Goodwill: No properties have been acquired through compulsory purchase. Properties acquired under the Exceptional Hardship Schemes for Phase One and Phase Two are listed in the tables, which have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Nurseries

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 4W on nurseries, whether his Department's workplace nurseries access the Government's tax relief scheme for workplace nurseries.

Stephen Hammond: The Department’s childcare vouchers schemes are fully compliant with the Governments tax relief schemes as set out under Section 318 ITEPA 2003. Of the two nursery provision areas in Hastings and Swansea, the latter is run by a “third party” organisation, therefore, it is not for the Department to comment if they has access to the Government’s tax relief scheme.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if his Department will take steps to prevent unnecessary pavement parking;
	(2)  if his Department will commission an assessment of the dangers and problems of vehicles parked on pavements.

Robert Goodwill: The Department has no plans to commission a report into pavement parking.
	In London there is a general ban on parking on the footway. In the rest of England there is no such prohibition but local authorities outside London have wide-ranging powers to make Traffic Regulation Orders to prohibit pavement parking on designated lengths of highway or over a wide area.

Road Traffic: Greater London

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of trends in the levels of (a) congestion and (b) traffic accidents in London in each of the last 10 years.

Robert Goodwill: Road congestion is measured in the Department by average morning peak speeds. Estimates of average weekday morning peak speeds, on locally managed ‘A’ roads in London between 2007 and 2013 are presented in the table below. The first calendar year in this series is 2007 and earlier years are not available. Over the last 6 years, average morning peak speeds in London rose by 3.8% between 2007 and 2009, remained relatively stable until 2011, before falling by 2.7% between 2011 and 2013.
	
		
			 Average weekday morning peak speeds on locally managed ‘A’ roads in London 
			  Average morning peak speeds in London1,2 
			 2007 15.9 
			 2008 16.1 
			 2009 16.5 
			 2010 16.4 
			 2011 16.5 
			 2012 16.3 
			 2013 16.1 
			 1 Morning peak defined as 7am to 10am. School holiday periods and the month of August are excluded 2 Average speeds are measured in both directions of the road network 
		
	
	Equivalent estimates for individual London boroughs can be found on the Department for Transport’s website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279125/cgn0206.xls
	The number of reported personal injury road accidents of all severities in London in the last 10 years can be found in the table below:
	
		
			 Reported personal injury road accidents in London, 2003-12 
			  Accidents 
			 2003 31,844 
			 2004 28,778 
			 2005 26,812 
			 2006 24,829 
			 2007 23,265 
			 2008 23,160 
			 2009 23,279 
			 2010 24,145 
			 2011 24,468 
			 2012 24,097 
		
	
	Data for year 2013 will be available in June 2014.

Afghanistan

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has had any discussions with the government of Afghanistan concerning future basing of UK unmanned aircraft systems in that country after 2014. [R]

Mark Francois: To date, there have been no discussions with the Government of Afghanistan about the future basing of UK unmanned aircraft systems in Afghanistan after 2014.

Armed Forces: Complaints

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2014, Official Report, column 315W, on armed forces: complaints, how many mid-year annual reports were not completed in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Information on the completion of mid-year reviews for regular Service personnel is not collected directly and is therefore not held.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what recent discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on the payment of armed forces pensions in the event of Scottish independence;
	(2)  what inflation adjustment measures are applied to the pensions paid to armed forces pensioners resident outside the UK.

Anna Soubry: Armed Forces pensions are currently uprated annually in April using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figure from the previous September. These are occupational pensions and are therefore paid, including any CPI increase, to scheme members wherever they reside in the world.
	The UK Government is confident that the people of Scotland will continue to support remaining within the UK. There have, therefore, been no discussions with the Scottish Government about this matter.

DSG Ashchurch

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) a bat, (b) a dormouse, (c) a crested newt and (d) an owl survey has been carried out at Defence Infrastructure Organisation site Ashchurch; what the result of each such survey was; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: A baseline ecological survey was undertaken at Ashchurch in 2008 and updated in 2012. Following this survey no detailed assessments were undertaken for owls, as there have been no sightings or evidence of protected birds, or dormice, due to no suitable habitat being identified.
	Further detailed studies have been carried out for both crested newts and bats. Results of these surveys showed there was no evidence of crested newts and little evidence of bat activity across Ashchurch. However, one building had a small bat roost and there was a possibility of a bat roost in a second building.

Council Tax: Floods

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities affected by the recent floods are offering council tax discounts to flooded-out householders under section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 3 April 2014
	The Prime Minister announced on 19 February 2014 that Government will reimburse local authorities for providing council tax discounts for flooded homes. 48 local authorities have reported that they had already offered discounts by 17 March, with a further 63 planning to do so in using their discretionary powers under section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. It is for local authorities to determine whether they wish to take up the Government's offer of funding, depending on the precise scale and extent of local flooding.

Families: Disadvantaged

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how self-reported data from local authorities on the Troubled Families programme is audited.

Kris Hopkins: All results are approved within each local authority's internal audit arrangements and under the statutory authority of the chief executive. My Department then undertakes a verification process on a sample of claims made.

Local Government Finance

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans for the service Transformation Panel to (a) form, (b) invite bids, (c) announce bid deadlines and (d) consider bids.

Brandon Lewis: On 2 April 2014, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), announced the Service Transformation Panel. A full list of panel members will be published shortly.
	The panel will gather evidence of the opportunities and barriers of integrating local public services in order to make recommendations advising what needs to happen locally and nationally to increase the pace and scale of integration between local public services. There is no bid process as part of the panel's work.

Local Government Finance

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to his written statement of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 81WS on Improving Public Services, how much each local authority will receive from the £90 million funding made available to all councils so they can start investing to save; and how the allocation of such funding will be calculated.

Brandon Lewis: The £90 million funding which has been made available immediately for local authorities to start investing to save is made up of three different elements:
	£1 million for nine local authorities working with the Public Service Transformation Network to speed up and scale up their transformation plans; and £6 million for 13 local authorities that narrowly missed out on funding in the 2013-14 Transformation Challenge Award bidding process. The allocations for these funds were published on 3 April.
	£83 million of unused capitalisation provision has been returned to all councils in England. This can be used as councils see fit. In line with the published capitalisation policy and procedures for 2013-14, the unused capitalisation provision has been distributed to all authorities in accordance with their share of the 2013-14 Start Up Funding Assessment.
	Full lists of local authorities' allocations for each of these elements are set out in tables that have been deposited in the Library of the House.

Local Government: Publicity

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to which local authorities he has written about their compliance with the Publicity Code asking them to take steps to ensure complete compliance with that code; and whether each of these letters was copied to the leader of the opposition of the local authority.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 7 April 2014
	On 25 March, departmental officials wrote to the chief executives of every principal local authority in England, advising how the Secretary of State is minded to exercise his powers to direct compliance with the Code of Recommended Practice on local Authority Publicity. On the same day, I wrote individually to the Leaders of the royal borough of Greenwich, London borough of Hackney, Newham council, Nottingham city council, Tower Hamlets council and the London borough of Waltham Forest. Without prejudicing any formal consideration by the Secretary of State, I observed that there were suggestions that those councils in particular might not be complying with the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity. I suggested that prior to the Secretary of State's new powers for directing compliance with the code on publicity coming on-stream at the end of March, they take steps to ensure that their council is in complete compliance with the provisions of the code. Those letters were copied where applicable to the leaders of the opposition in those authorities.

New Towns: Ebbsfleet

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the development announced in Budget 2014 at Ebbsfleet will consist of affordable homes.

Nicholas Boles: The Government does not impose a particular level of affordable housing for housing schemes. The percentage of affordable units will be a matter for local decision making taking account of the local authorities local plans and site viability. Unrealistic Section 106 agreements result in no development, no regeneration and no community benefits.

Official Hospitality

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department's (a) catering and (b) hospitality budget was in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2013.

Brandon Lewis: My Department has no separate budget for catering and hospitality in 2012 and 2013.
	To assist the right hon. Member, I would note that this Government has dramatically cut spending compared to the last Labour Government and put in place far tighter rules and restrictions on spending:
	The Department spent £553,230 on catering and hospitality in 2008-09, and £456,142 in 2009-10.
	By 2012-13, spending had been reduced to £58,882 (plus £16,727 of delayed billing from the year before).
	We anticipate spending in the region of £36,000 in the year 2013-14 (the precise figure will be audited at financial year end).
	The expenditure undertaken is essentially for light refreshments for a large number of small official events such as:
	European Regional Development Fund events (meetings with external visitors and Local Management Committee meetings);
	Conferences and workshops with representatives of local government, housing, planning and local communities;
	Public roadshows and Portas Pilot events;
	All-day recruitment assessment centres, training and induction courses.
	We do not routinely incur any expenditure on refreshments for Ministers other than “de minimis” expenditure on tea and coffee for Ministers’ meetings with external visitors, or on the rare occasion when Ministers undertake overnight stays on official business outside London.
	Our departmental savings has also been assisted by terminating ministerial group spending on Government Procurement Cards, as practiced by the Labour Government at taxpayers' expense at the likes of Sky City Casino, the Cinnamon Club, the Wolseley, Brasserie 44, Boisdales, Inn the Park, Mango Tree, Shepherds, Incognico, Buffalo Bar, Mr Chu's China Palace, Tantric Jazz and Fat Tuesdays.
	We have showed that there is considerable scope for the public sector to generate significant savings in this area, as evident from the ongoing saving of up to half a million pounds a year.
	To place our savings in context, as noted in the answer of 8 April 2014, Official Report, House of Lords, column 270WA, when the right hon. Member was Secretary of State, he spent £444,891 on catering, hospitality and refreshments in 2008-09 and £552,367 in 2009-10.
	I know that the right hon. Member has a particular interest in biscuits, so to help quantify this amount, his spending in his last year in office is equivalent today to buying 720,479 packets of Jammie Dodgers from Waitrose (albeit, with a free cup of coffee thrown in).

Rents

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library the model and detailed methodology used for the forecast of the effects of affordable rent on housing benefit expenditure published by his Department in the document, Impact Assessment for Affordable Rent, in June 2011.

Kris Hopkins: The Affordable Rent Impact Assessment, published in June 2011, sets out the methodology and assumptions used at the time to model the expected impact of affordable rent on housing benefit expenditure. The impact assessment is published here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6021/1918816.pdf

UK Coal

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West of 3 April 2014, on what dates and with which representative of the European Commission he spoke about the future of UK Coal.

Michael Fallon: Ministers and officials in the Department regularly meet with officials from the European Commission.

Wind Power

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Prime Minister, (b) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (c) Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the imposition of a cap on the construction and capacity of onshore wind developments.

Michael Fallon: DECC Ministers meet regularly with other Ministers to discuss a range of issues.

Wind Power

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on (a) delays and (b) the use of recoveries in the planning system for onshore wind developments.

Michael Fallon: DECC Ministers meet regularly with other Ministers to discuss a range of issues.

Wind Power

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make an assessment of the effects of a cap on the construction and capacity of onshore wind developments on (a) consumer bills, (b) investment in onshore wind, (c) competition in the market, (d) community benefit and (e) onshore wind supply chain and jobs.

Gregory Barker: There is no cap on current deployment of onshore wind (or any other renewable energy technology). It is the role of the planning system to ensure that wind farms are only built where the impacts are, or can be made, acceptable.
	Onshore wind is one of the cheapest forms of large-scale renewable energy-supporting onshore wind in 2013 added around £9 per year to the average UK energy bill. Since 2010 DECC has recorded announced investments by developers in onshore wind totalling around £4.6 billion, with the potential to support over 7,700 jobs; and, around the UK, onshore wind developments are providing community funds and other benefits to local people, such as money off electricity bills.

Cross Border Co-operation: Republic of Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment she has made of the level of co-operation between the security forces in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

Theresa Villiers: There continues to be very close contact between the PSNI and An Garda Siochana to tackle the threat faced from dissident republican activity on both sides of the border. Every opportunity will be taken to consider ways to improve cross border working relationships and deepen the collective understanding of the threat, building on the excellent co-operation that exists.

Aspire to Change

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what (a) advice and (b) written guidance (i) he, (ii) Ministers and (iii) officials in his Department have given to Aspire to Change (A2C) since December 2013; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much has been paid by his Department to Aspire to Change (A2C) since its formation; for what purpose each payment was made; what assessment he has made of the value for money of such expenditure; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what (a) discussions with and (b) representations from Aspire to Change (A2C) (i) he, (ii) Ministers and (iii) officials in his Department have had since December 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: Under Transforming Rehabilitation, we are opening up the market to a diverse range of new rehabilitation providers, so that we get the best out of the public, voluntary and private sectors, at the local as well as national level. Managers in a number of Probation Trusts, including Essex, have set up mutuals so that they can bid to become owners of the new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). In line with wider Government policy, we have encouraged those Trusts that have been interested to consider the mutual option. All those developing mutuals have had the opportunity to bid for further advice, guidance and assistance through the Cabinet Office Mutual Support programme (MSP). The MSP has allocated a total of £1.5million to support prospective mutuals with the greatest potential. Support to organisations has been provided in two phases. Phase 1 supported organisations to prepare them for the competition. Phase 2 is providing further support to those that passed the first stage of the competition throughout the negotiation phase and, if they are successful in the competition, support their transition to a mutual.
	We launched the competition to establish the owners of the 21 CRCs on 19 September 2013. Competition rules preclude this Department from contacting potential bidders other than through the competition process so that is, and will remain the only avenue for Aspire 2 Change Ltd. To communicate with the Department until the competition is completed.

Crime: Farms

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what prosecutions there have been for (a) sheep rustling and (b) other crimes on farms in each of the last three years.

Damian Green: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to separately identify from this centrally held information offences of sheep rustling from other offences of theft. Nor is it possible to separately identify which offences occurred on a farm. This information may be held on the individual court files, which can be checked only at disproportionate cost.

Crimes of Violence

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consultation his Department undertook before excluding damage sustained in utero as a result of illegal drug taking from the definition of a crime of violence under Annex B paragraph 4(e) of the Criminal Compensation Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: I sympathise deeply with anyone who suffers from an injury or debilitating condition sustained in utero. As part of the ‘Getting it right for victims and witnesses’ consultation, which was published in January 2012, we looked in detail at the definition of a “crime of violence” for the purposes of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS). After the consultation, a decision was taken to exclude injuries sustained by an unborn child if the mother willingly consumes harmful substances during pregnancy. We implemented a new Scheme in November 2012.
	Below is a link to the ‘Getting it right for victims and witnesses’ Consultation Paper and the Government's Response.
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/victims-witnesses

Criminal Injuries Compensation

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many new cases were allocated by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to be dealt with by each of their regional teams in each of the last three years.

Damian Green: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (OCA) divides its case work between six teams, each of which handles applications from a particular region of Great Britain. All of these teams work from a single office. Northern Ireland has a separate Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme, which CICA does not administer. CICA publishes the total number of cases it receives each year in its annual reports but these are not broken down by team.
	The six regional teams are numbered as follows:
	1. Scotland and Wales
	2. North-West England
	3. North-East England
	4. Midlands
	5. South England
	6. London
	The following table sets out how many cases each region received in each of the last three reporting years. The sum of cases allocated to each region will differ from the total received by CICA each year because some clearly ineligible cases are refused before they are sent to a regional team to investigate.
	
		
			 Number of cases 
			  Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 Region 4 Region 5 Region 6 
			 2010-11 9,276 10,805 10,167 9,601 10,619 8,213 
			 2011-12 8,897 10,294 9,357 9,450 10,749 8,129 
			 2012-13 7,155 8,058 7,578 7,833 8,976 6,196

Fraud: Social Security Benefits

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of (a) men and (b) women convicted of benefit fraud in each of the last five years received a prison sentence; and what the average prison sentence was for those of each gender so convicted;
	(2)  how many (a) men and (b) women convicted of benefit fraud in each of the last five years received (i) a conditional discharge, (ii) a fine, (iii) a community order and (iv) a suspended prison sentence.

Jeremy Wright: The Department for Work and Pensions operates a tough series of specific penalties for benefit fraud that run alongside the criminal justice system. The Welfare Reform Act 2012 toughened penalties for those who commit, or attempt to commit benefit fraud. We have introduced a financial administrative penalty as an alternative to prosecution which, for the first time, can be applied to attempted fraud.
	The Government has also introduced a tougher loss of benefit penalty to restrict benefits to people convicted of benefit fraud or who have accepted an administrative penalty. Benefits can be reduced for periods of 13 weeks, 26 weeks or three years, dependent on the number of benefit fraud offences committed within a specified period, where the latest offence results in a conviction.
	Judges make their decisions independently of Government based on the facts of each case. The maximum penalty for fraud is 10 years in prison.
	The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates court found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences relating to benefit fraud, with sentencing outcomes and the average custodial sentence length by gender, in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the table.
	Please note that court proceedings statistics for the year 2013 are planned to be published by the Ministry of Justice in May 2014.
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates court found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences relating to benefit fraud,1 with sentencing outcomes and the average custodial sentence length, by gender, England and Wales, 2008-122, 3 
			      Results 
			 Sex Year Proceeded against Found guilty4 Sentenced5 Absolute discharge Conditional discharge Fine 
			 Male 2008 4,393 3,571 3,572 21 850 736 
			  2009 3,337 2,831 2,855 5 499 602 
			  2010 3,036 2,603 2,624 4 394 574 
			  2011 2,911 2,531 2,556 — 385 479 
			  2012 3,850 3,303 3,341 10 570 726 
			         
			 Female 2008 4,996 4,199 4,231 14 1,305 578 
			  2009 4,127 3,511 3,544 7 845 532 
			  2010 3,692 3,209 3,263 7 618 483 
			  2011 3,447 2,959 3,014 4 505 418 
			  2012 4,440 3,798 3,847 5 877 625 
		
	
	
		
			   Results 
			 Sex Year Community sentence Suspended sentence Immediate custody Otherwise dealt with Average custodial sentence length (months)6 
			 Male 2008 1,363 358 172 69 7.85 
			  2009 1,137 413 179 20 8.69 
			  2010 1,130 405 106 11 8.99 
			  2011 1,043 473 163 13 8.24 
			  2012 1,435 446 135 19 6.76 
			        
			 Female 2008 1,629 541 90 73 7.25 
			  2009 1,438 588 121 13 7.82 
			  2010 1,377 667 102 9 7.72 
			  2011 1,204 755 123 5 7.17 
			  2012 1,512 703 115 10 5.99 
			 ‘— = Nil. 1 Includes the following offences: Social Security Administration Act 1992 added by Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997—Dishonest representation for obtaining benefits. Social Security Administration Act 1992—False representation. Contravention of regulations etc. Social Security Administration Act 1992 as amended by Social security Act 1998—Knowingly being concerned in fraudulent evasion of contributions. Social Security Administration Act 1992—Illegal possession of documents relating to benefits etc. 2 The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 4 The number of defendants found guilty in a particular year may exceed the number proceeded against as the proceedings in the magistrates court took place in an earlier year and the defendants were found guilty at the Crown court in the following year; or the defendants were found guilty of a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against. 5 The number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown court, may be sentenced in the following year. 6 Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Homicide

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many individuals convicted of (a) murder or (b) attempted murder in each of the last 10 years have been released with exclusion zones forming a part of their licence arrangements;
	(2)  on how many occasions an individual on licence for an attempted murder conviction has been granted permission to enter an exclusion zone which has been formed as part of their licence arrangement in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many times a convicted attempted murderer released on licence has been allowed to enter an exclusion zone formed as part of their licence arrangement within one week of their release in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Wright: Unfortunately, it is not possible to answer these questions without carrying out a manual search through all relevant individual offender files, at disproportionate cost.
	Conditions such as an exclusion zone may be applied to an offender's licence where it is necessary to manage the risk that the individual offender poses following release into the community—and where it is proportionate to that risk. Where qualifying victims have exercised their statutory right to make representations about the offender's licence conditions, the exclusion zone set will take into account those representations. In each case, the supervising officer proposes conditions as appropriate and requests these from the appropriate authority, which applies it to the licence on behalf of the Secretary of State. In the case of determinate sentence prisoners, the authority is the prison governor; in the case of indeterminate sentence prisoners, or others whose release is on the direction of the Parole Board, the authority is the Parole Board.
	These conditions must be kept under review, and are intended to be flexible to the possible resettlement needs of an offender in the community and any new risks that arise.
	An exclusion zone will rarely be absolute, as it is recognised that there may be exceptional reasons why the offender needs to enter the exclusion zone. Thus, where an exclusion zone is included in the offender's licence, it will usually be open to the supervising officer to grant the offender permission to enter the exclusion zone, for a temporary period and for a specific purpose.
	As this is a purely localised decision, there is no national record of the number of occasions such permission has been given. It is, therefore, not possible to answer the questions regarding how many times an offender has been granted permission to enter the exclusion zone applied to his licence.
	Data from the last 10 years is not available in the required electronic format to answer the question relating to numbers of offenders with exclusion zones included in their licence. To provide such information would again require a manual interrogation of offenders' records and this would incur disproportionate cost.

Magistrates Courts

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of a magistrates' court proceeding was in (a) all cases and (b) cases relating to the non-payment of the television licence fee.

Damian Green: The majority of criminal cases in the magistrates court are dealt with in a single day. Around two thirds of all cases are dealt with in a single hearing with 90% of television licence evasion cases requiring only one hearing. The Government has said that it will examine whether television licence evasion should be decriminalised.

Prisoners

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in each prison establishment are not being held in relation to criminal proceedings; and what the reason is for their being so held in each case.

Jeremy Wright: As of the 31 December 2013, 1,230 people were being held in prisons in England and Wales not in relation to criminal proceedings.
	Of these, 1,214 were being held as immigration detainees and 16 were being held for civil offences (for example non-payment of a debt, contempt of court, or breach of an injunction).
	The agreement to hold time served foreign national offenders (Immigration Detainees) in prisons is set out in a Service Level Agreement between NOMS and the Home Office and is designed to support the Home Office in achieving its objectives for removal.
	Reducing the FNO population is a top priority for this Government. We are working hard to reduce the flow of FNOs into our prison system and increase the number of FNOs removed from the UK through Prisoner Transfer Agreements (PTAs); the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS).
	Table 1 below provides a breakdown of the population who are not held in relation to criminal proceedings by prison establishment.
	
		
			 Table 1: Non criminal prison population by establishment, England and Wales, 31 December 2013 
			 Establishment Non criminal population 
			 Altcourse 5 
			 Ashfield 1 
			 Aylesbury 2 
			 Bedford 11 
			 Belmarsh 12 
			 Birmingham 30 
			 Brinsford 3 
			 Bristol 6 
			 Brixton 15 
			 Bronzefield 6 
			 Bullingdon 31 
			 Bure 6 
			 Cardiff 5 
			 Channings Wood 4 
			 Chelmsford 20 
			 Coldingley 4 
			 Dartmoor 2 
			 Deerbolt 3 
			 Doncaster 18 
			 Dovegate 3 
			 Drake Hall 3 
			 Durham 4 
			 Eastwood Park 3 
			 Elmley (Sheppey cluster) 44 
			 Erlestoke 1 
			 Everthorpe 3 
			 Exeter 3 
			 Featherstone 7 
			 Feltham 19 
			 Forest Bank 18 
			 Foston Hall 4 
			 Garth 1 
			 GlenParva 13 
			 Guys Marsh 3 
			 Haverigg 2 
			 Hewell 24 
			 High Down 31 
			 Highpoint (North and South) 34 
			 Hindley 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Holloway 23 
			 Holme House 9 
			 Hull 3 
			 Huntercombe 35 
			 Isis 5 
			 Lancaster Farms 3 
			 Leeds 25 
			 Leicester 11 
			 Lewes 7 
			 Lincoln 23 
			 Lindholme 2 
			 Littlehey 17 
			 Liverpool 13 
			 Long Lartin 2 
			 Low Newton 2 
			 Maidstone 52 
			 Manchester 10 
			 Moorland/Hatfield 27 
			 Mount 10 
			 New Hall 1 
			 Norwich 16 
			 Nottingham 16 
			 Oakwood 5 
			 Pare 4 
			 Pentonville 62 
			 Peterborough 18 
			 Portland 3 
			 Preston 3 
			 Ranby 13 
			 Risley 15 
			 Rochester 1 
			 Stafford 4 
			 Stoke Heath 6 
			 Styal 4 
			 Swaleside (Sheppey cluster) 1 
			 Swansea 1 
			 Swinfen Hall 1 
			 Thameside 56 
			 Wakefield 2 
			 Wandsworth 195 
			 Wayland 4 
			 Wealstun 1 
			 Winchester 3 
			 Wolds 2 
			 Woodhill 21 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 84 
			 Wymott 4 
			 Total 1,230 
			 Data Sources and Quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what length of custodial sentence was given to each foreign national returned to their home country as part of the EU Prisoner Transfer Agreement in each year since that agreement came into force; and how long each had left to serve at the time of the repatriation;
	(2)  how many UK citizens have been returned to the UK from abroad to serve their custodial sentences under the EU Prisoner Transfer Agreement in each year since that agreement came into force; of what offences they were convicted; what length of custodial sentence they received; and how long they had left to serve in custody at the time of their repatriation;
	(3)  what crimes were committed by those foreign nationals who have been returned from the UK to their home countries under the EU Prisoner Transfer Agreement in each year since that agreement came into force;
	(4)  how many offenders have been returned from the UK to each country under the EU Prisoner Transfer Agreement in each year since that agreement came into force.

Jeremy Wright: The Council Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA (The EU PTA) entered into force on 5 December 2011.
	To date 18 member states (including the United Kingdom) have implemented the Agreement. The European Court of Justice will have jurisdiction over the measure from 1 December 2014 and member states may face infraction proceedings if they have not implemented the Agreement by then.
	Use of the EU PTA is an early stage and the number of prisoners transferred remains low. However, we expect to see a significant increase in the number of prisoner transferred once the Agreement has been implemented by all member states.
	To date 17 prisoners have been transferred to other jurisdictions.
	The following table sets out the number of prisoners transferred from England and Wales to other EU member states since the implementation of the EU PTA in December 2011.
	
		
			 Receiving State Year of Transfer Sentence Length Offence Type Time left to serve in the United Kingdom on the date of transfer (days) 
			 Belgium 2013 8 years Wounding with intent 1,016 
			 Belgium 2013 5 years, 5 months Facilitating illegal entry 634 
			 Belgium 2013 9 years Drugs 1,135 
			 Latvia 2013 10 years Death by dangerous driving 882 
			 Malta 2013 6 years Sexual offences 578 
			 The Netherlands 2013 7 years Drugs 1,043 
			 The Netherlands 2013 15 years Drugs 2,098 
			 The Netherlands 2013 10 years Drugs 1,189 
			 The Netherlands 2013 6 years Drugs 544 
			 The Netherlands 2013 5 years, 3 months Sex Offences 437 
			 The Netherlands 2013 6 years, 6 months Drugs 793 
			 The Netherlands 2013 5 years, 6 months Drugs 608 
		
	
	
		
			 The Netherlands 2013 5 years, 6 months Drugs 638 
			 The Netherlands 2013 Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection Sexual Offences n/a 
			 The Netherlands 2013 4 years, 8 months Drugs 355 
			 The Netherlands 2013 7 years Drugs 705 
			 The Netherlands 2014 4 years Drugs 388 
			 n/a = Not applicable. 
		
	
	The following table sets out the number of British nationals transferred from other EU member states to England and Wales since the EU PTA entered into force in December 2011. 10 prisoners have been transferred.
	
		
			 Sentence State Year of Transfer Sentence Length Offence Type Time left to serve in custody following transfer (days) 
			 Belgium 2013 3 years, 11 months Drugs 415 
			 Belgium 2013 5 years Human Trafficking 476 
			 Belgium 2013 8 years Sexual Offences 1,195 
			 Denmark 2012 14 years Drugs 1,324 
			 Denmark 2012 3 years Drugs 146 
			 Denmark 2012 2 years Fraud 124 
			 Italy 2013 5 year, 4 months Drugs 974 
			 Italy 2013 9 years, 6 months Drugs 1,617 
			 Italy 2013 2 years, 10 months Drugs 267 
			 Italy 2013 15 years, 4 months Drugs 1,847 
			 Notes: 1. The figures given in the tables relate to England and Wales only. The transfer of prisoners to Scotland and to Northern Ireland is a devolved matter, and is therefore the responsibility of the relevant Minister. 2. The numbers reported here are drawn from a Prison Service Case Tracking System. Care is taken when processing these cases but the figures may be subject to inaccuracies associated with any recording system. 
		
	
	All foreign national offenders (FNOs) sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.
	The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing Foreign National Offenders. The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which was introduced in May 2012, we have removed 231 FNOs to date.
	Whereas this Government has begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.

Prisons

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many activity spaces per prisoner there were in (a) adult male prisons, (b) adult female prisons, (c) youth male prisons and (d) youth female prisons on 1 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013 in (A) the prison estate and (B) each prison.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	However, the number of activity spaces agreed within each public sector prison establishment's service level agreement for 2013-14 is published at the following location:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/transparency-data/prison-service-level-agreement-and-probation-trust-contracts
	These documents are a historical record of the public sector prison service level agreements at the point at which they took effect. These agreements remain subject to change, through formal procedures, throughout the year.
	Work in prisons is a key priority to ensure prisoners are engaged purposefully while they are in custody. It also gives them the opportunity to learn skills and a work ethic which can increase their chances of finding employment on release, a key element to reducing reoffending.
	Our reforms to the Incentives and Earned Privileges national policy framework came into effect in adult prisons on 1 November 2013. Prisoners will be expected to engage in purposeful activity, as well as demonstrate a commitment towards their rehabilitation, reduce their risk of reoffending, behave well and help others if they are to earn privileges.
	The number of prisoners working in industrial activity in public sector prisons increased from around 8,600 in 2010-11 to around 9,700 in 2012-13. This delivered an increase in the total hours worked in industrial activities from 10.6 million hours to 13.1 million hours. In addition there are substantial numbers of prisoners who work to keep prisons running on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.

National Insurance Contributions

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of women with (a) two, (b) three, (c) four and (d) five or more jobs; and how many such people do not earn a total income above the lower earnings threshold through all their employments;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of (a) people and (b) women who work in more than one job but do not pay national insurance even though their total earnings are above the lower earnings threshold;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of people with (a) two, (b) three, (c) four and (d) five or more jobs; and how many of such people's total earnings do not meet the lower earnings threshold;
	(4)  how many people who do not meet the income threshold required to pay National Insurance contributions opt to pay national insurance contributions voluntarily.

David Gauke: Estimates of the number of (a) people and (b) women who work in more than one job but do not pay national insurance, even though their total earnings are above the lower earnings threshold; and, of those, how many are women, are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pension-coverage-lower-earnings-limit-and-multiple-jobs
	The rest of the information requested is not available.

Taxation: Self-employed

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the additional revenue secured since 2010 as a result of changes to the IR35 tax regulations affecting the self-employed.

David Gauke: The intermediaries' legislation, known as IR35, does not apply to the self-employed, rather it applies to those providing their services through an intermediary (normally a limited company) who if it were not for the intermediary would otherwise be considered an employee of the client.
	IR35 ensures that under such circumstances broadly the same tax and National Insurance contributions are paid as if the individual were directly employed.
	A very minor change to the IR35 legislation was made in 2010 in consequence of the Corporation Taxes Act 2010.
	HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have currently four specialist compliance teams which undertake investigations of intermediaries (commonly called personal service companies) operating across all sectors where potential non-compliance with IR35 is suspected. These teams form part of a restructuring of HMRC's administration of IR35 following recommendations in March 2011 by the Office of Tax Simplification. Revenue secured under IR35 from this direct compliance activity between 6 April 2010 and 5 April 2013 is £2.519 million. Figures for 2013/14 are not currently available.

Females: New Businesses

Robert Halfon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she is taking to encourage women to start their own businesses.

Jennifer Willott: We are creating the right conditions for companies to thrive and making it easier for people to start successful new businesses. Government offers a wide range of support to new businesses, for example, providing advice and support through the Growth Accelerator and improving access to finance through the British Business Bank and the Start Up Loan scheme. Over 37% of Start Up Loans have gone to female entrepreneurs.
	In addition, Government Equalities Office has committed £1.6 million to support rural women's enterprise; £2 million in small grants to help people to set up their own child care business; and contributed £600,000 to the Get Mentoring project which has recruited and trained over 15,000 volunteer business mentors, more than 6,000 of whom are women. We also recently partnered with Young Enterprise and announced the 'Women's Start Up Project', a scheme to encourage young women studying at undergraduate level to set up and run real start-up businesses.
	These measures are making a difference. In 2010 only 14% of small and medium sized enterprises were either run by women or by a team that was over 50% female; in 2012, this had risen to 19%.

BBC: USA

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the BBC Trust on the sale of BBC content in the US; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State has had no discussions with the BBC Trust on the sale of BBC content in the US. Under the terms of its Charter and Agreement the BBC is operationally and editorially independent of Government.

Rugby: World Cup

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to promote (a) the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and (b) the Amex Stadium at Falmer as one of the venues for that event; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: In May we reach 500 days to go until the Rugby World Cup and I am working with England 2015, Visit England and Foreign and Commonwealth Office to support the Webb Ellis Trophy Tour to promote the event internationally. I will also be seeking opportunities to support the volunteer programme. I support the regional spread of venues for the Rugby World Cup and I know that England 2015 is working closely with Brighton and Hove council to put on a fantastic celebration of Rugby in the area.

Tate Modern

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of whether the Tate Modern extension project will be completed within budget; and when that project is scheduled for completion.

Edward Vaizey: The Tate Modern Project is reviewed periodically by the Major Projects Authority within the Cabinet Office's Efficiency and Reform Group, and the DCMS Investment Committee, as is usual for a major project of this nature. The building will open in 2016 and the project is on course to meet that target.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many complaints have been made to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission about the Work Programme on the grounds of equality since June 2011;
	(2)  how many complaints have been made to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission on the treatment of employment and support allowance recipients on the Work Programme on the grounds of disability discrimination since June 2011.

Helen Grant: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and I have asked the Commission to provide the information. The Commission's records of complaints received do not identify specific policy initiatives, such as the Work Programme, raised by complainants. Providing a comprehensive and accurate response would require a manual search of files and therefore could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Abortion

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue updated guidance on the two doctor rule for abortions.

Jane Ellison: Guidance on compliance with the Abortion Act is currently in development and will be published shortly. This will clarify for medical practitioners what is required of them when making a decision under the Act.

Dental Services: West Midlands

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the likely patient charge revenue for Birmingham and the Black Country Area Team from NHS Dental Services in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has made no estimate of the likely patient charge revenue for Birmingham, Solihull and Black Country area team from national health service dental services in 2013-14 and 2014-15. This is a matter for NHS England.

Dental Services: West Midlands

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the management of the Birmingham and the Black Country Area Team in relation to the shortfall or surplus between the predicted and actual patients charges revenue for NHS Dental Services in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13.

Daniel Poulter: The Department will not make an assessment of the effectiveness of the management of the Birmingham, Solihull and Black Country area team in relation to the shortfall or surplus between the predicted and actual patients charges revenue for national health service dental services in 2011-12 and 2012-13. This is a matter for NHS England.

Dental Services: West Midlands

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Birmingham and the Black Country Area Team management of patient charge revenue from NHS Dental Services.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has made no assessment of the effectiveness of the Birmingham, Solihull and Black Country area team management of patient charge revenue from dental health services.
	This is a matter for NHS England.

Epilepsy

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding, information and training available for people with epilepsy and their families.

Norman Lamb: No assessment has been made of the adequacy of funding, information and training available for people with epilepsy and their families. The majority of patients with this condition can be successfully managed in primary and secondary care and the delivery of such services is a local matter.
	To support the delivery of high quality epilepsy services, in January 2012, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline that sets out best practice in the diagnosis, treatment care and support of adults and children with this condition. The guidance states that epilepsy nurse specialists should be an integral part of the network of care of children, young people and adults with epilepsy. One of their roles is to educate, inform and support the patient and their family with specific training about the management of seizures, among other things.
	In February 2013, NICE published Quality Standards for both children and adults epilepsy services. Quality Standards are important in setting out to patients, the public, commissioners and providers what a high quality service should look like in a particular area of care. Epilepsy nurse specialists are a key feature of both of these.

Heart Diseases: North East

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the quality of care and treatment of patients with heart failure in the North East.

Jane Ellison: No such assessment has been made.
	The National Heart Failure Audit April 2012—March 2013 provides a national assessment of the quality of care and treatment of patients with heart failure in England. It provides data by provider, but does not provide a regional break-down of figures.
	The audit is available at:
	www.ucl.ac.uk/nicor/audits/heartfailure/documents/annualreports/hfannual12-13.pdf

Poliomyelitis

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will create a strategy to address the needs of those with post polio syndrome; and if his Department will take steps to publicise the needs of those with post polio syndrome amongst medical professionals.

Norman Lamb: Since 1 April 2013 NHS England has been responsible for determining the overall national approach to improving clinical outcomes from health care services, including for patients with long-term conditions such as post-polio syndrome (PPS). NHS England is adopting a broad strategy for delivering improvements in relation to long-term conditions, rather than pursuing a condition specific approach.
	Although there is currently no cure for PPS, there are a range of treatments and support available to help manage the symptoms and improve quality of life for patients including:
	physical therapy known as “pacing” to help recognise and manage fatigue;
	appropriate pain relief; and
	diet and exercise advice.
	Information for the public on PPS is available on the NHS choices website. More detailed information for clinicians can be found on the Map of Medicine (MOM), which can be used by doctors working in the NHS to decide on the best treatment options for patients. There are links from the NHS Choices website directly to the MOM.
	The MOM has collaborated with the British Polio Fellowship to update the 'post-polio syndrome (PPS)' care map. The care map features information on diagnosis, rehabilitation and management of PPS, and is based on high quality guidelines, quality-assessed secondary literature, and practice-based knowledge from a multidisciplinary group including neurologists, physiotherapists, sociologists, and general practitioners.

Psoriasis

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to transpose quality statements 1 and 2 of the National Institute for Care and Clinical Excellence quality standard on psoriasis into Clinical Commissioning Group outcome indicators;
	(2)  what data requirements are necessary to precipitate the development of Clinical Commissioning Group Outcome Indicators based on quality statements 1 and 2 of the NICE quality standard on psoriasis.

Norman Lamb: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has advised that it has made some investigations into the information that would be required to support the indicators proposed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the Psoriasis Quality Standard.
	The HSCIC found that there was a need for some development in the Read codes used by clinicians to record patient findings and procedures in health and social care Information Technology systems across primary and secondary care; as well as guidance and clarification of definitions on the use of the existing Read codes for recording to support the indicators proposed for the topic of psoriasis.
	It should be noted that even where the data sources meet the requirements of the topic, any inclusion of indicators in the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcome Indicator Set (CCG OIS) requires there to be sufficient cases for statistically reliable measurement across the 211 clinical commissioning groups (CCG).
	The NICE CCG OIS Advisory Committee is due to review potential indicators derived from the NICE Psoriasis Quality Standard at their October meeting. If any indicators based on Quality Statements 1 (Assessing Disease Severity) and 2 (Assessing Impact of Disease) are prioritised for further development, they will then go through the process described in the recently published NICE Indicator Process Guide, which can be found at:
	www.nice.org.uk/media/03E/31/Indicators_process_guide.pdf
	The Committee will use the prioritisation criteria (detailed in appendix B of the process guide) to inform their decision about which indicators progress through the process.
	Potential CCG Outcomes Indicators are considered by the NICE CCG OIS advisory committee and the indicator recommended by the Committee are then considered by NHS England for inclusion in the CCG OIS.

Social Rented Housing

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions the Government has had with the Scottish Government on the introduction of a Right to Move scheme for social tenants.

David Mundell: Neither the Secretary of State for Scotland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), nor I have met with the Scottish Government to discuss the introduction of a Right to Move scheme for social tenants. Under the terms of devolution responsibility for housing, and that of social housing is the responsibility of Scottish Government Ministers. HomeSwap Direct however, does operate across the United Kingdom for those tenants wishing to mutually exchange within the social housing sphere.

Trade Unions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly, all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies who remain responsible for all employment matters including payroll deductions for union subscriptions.

Working Hours

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of employees in his Department of what (a) Civil Service pay grade and (b) gender work (i) reduced hours, (ii) flexi-time, (iii) from home, (iv) a compressed working week, (v) job share, (vi) term-time only and (vii) part-time.

David Mundell: A breakdown of the relevant data requested can be found in the following table. No staff work term-time or are on a home working contract. All staff have the opportunity to work flexible working hours.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Grade Gender Reduced or part-time hours Compressed hours Job share 
			 SCS Male 0 0 0 
			  Female 0 0 0 
			 Grade 6/7 Male 0 0 0 
			  Female 0 0 3.3 
			 SEO Male 0 3.3 0 
			  Female 1.7 0 0 
			 HEO Male 0 0 0 
			  Female 1.7 0 0 
			 EO Male 0 0 0 
			  Female 0 0 0 
			 Admin Male 1.7 0 0 
			  Female 1.7 0 0

Crimes of Violence

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Attorney-General what the average timescale was for the Crown Prosecution Service to provide the Metropolitan Police Service with advice on criminal charges against members of the public suspected of involvement in serious crimes in (a) 2011 to 2013 and (b) 2008 to 2010.

Oliver Heald: The following table shows, for the CPS in London, the average number of calendar days which have elapsed since the first decision was sought by the police to the date in which the last decision made was to charge. The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) do not identify the number of cases referred to it for advice, by the alleged offence(s).
	
		
			  Average time to a decision to charge 
			 2008-10 6.7 
			 2011-13 6.2 
		
	
	The CPS in London deals with cases referred to it by both the Metropolitan police force and the City of London police force and it is not possible to further break down the figures provided without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Homicide

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Attorney-General how and on what basis the Crown Prosecution Service decides whether to prioritise the allocation of resources to its decision-making on criminal charges following conclusions of unlawful killing at an inquest or public inquiry; and whether there is additional consideration where the events in question occurred more than three years prior to the conclusion of the inquest or public inquiry.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will consider whether there is any new evidence or information within the coroner's proceedings which may have an impact upon any previous CPS decision not to bring criminal charges against an individual(s) or organisation following a conclusion of unlawful killing at an inquest or public inquiry. Where it is found that a further investigation will need to be conducted by the police, and a fresh decision made by the CPS, the police and CPS should ensure the coroner and bereaved family/next of kin are notified of the next steps to be taken.
	The allocation of CPS resources to make decisions on criminal charges will be determined by the specific facts and circumstances of the individual case. The Complex Casework Units in each of the CPS areas will deal with more complex homicide cases; other homicide cases will be handled by senior prosecutors in the areas. The Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division in CPS headquarters also deals with a wide range of homicide cases including deaths in custody, assisted suicides, terrorist-related homicides and homicides arising from so-called 'disaster' cases. There are no additional considerations where the events in question occurred more than three years prior to the conclusion of the inquest or public inquiry.

Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what veterinary and animal welfare qualifications and training are a criteria of becoming an inspector at the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency.

George Eustice: Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) employs veterinarians and animal health officers who both are inspectors. Veterinarians employed by AHVLA must have a veterinary degree and be members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS). AHVLA supports these veterinarians to achieve the annual number of days continued development required to maintain their MRCVS.
	Animal health officers are not qualified veterinarians and have no requirement for any veterinary qualifications. They are trained in a variety of aspects relevant to their function and that are essential to their duties, including animal welfare, animal health, enforcement and evidence gathering. Furthermore, and in order to fulfil this function, animal health officers are appointed as Inspectors under the Animal Health Act 1981. A senior veterinarian in the organisation ensures that appointed inspectors only use the powers to act as an inspector when they are deemed competent to do so.
	AHVLA has an annual programme of training for its veterinary staff and animal health officers to ensure that they maintain and develop knowledge in their particular areas of expertise.

Ash Dieback Disease

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when his Department will (a) complete and (b) publish its review of the Chalara Management Plan; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the reasons are for the time taken for the review of the Chalara management plan; why the updated plan was not published by the Government's March 2014 target; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: The Government will publish an updated management approach to ‘Chalara’ alongside updated management approaches to other established tree pests and diseases, and those that pose an imminent threat, in a single Tree Health Management Plan. This Plan will set out the action that the Government and others are taking to protect our tree population from pests and diseases. It will be published alongside the wider Plant Biosecurity Strategy later this spring.

Flood Control

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many non-Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management staff counted under the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management cost-heading at the Environment Agency have been redeployed to inspect flood defence assets in each of the last five months.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency has not redeployed any non-flood and coastal erosion risk management staff to inspect flood risk management assets in the last five months. The Environment Agency only uses fully trained staff to inspect assets and has trained and used 200 armed forces personnel for this purpose.

Plastic Bags

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total number of projects was involved in Lot 1, Phase 1, of his Department's Biodegradable Plastic Carrier Bags Solutions through Innovation research call; and how many of those projects met each of the five functions and characteristics outlined in the research call.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA received six bids for Lot 1, Phase 1 of this research call.
	Two bids met the requirements outlined in the research call and are being funded by DEFRA.

Plastic Bags

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many projects were taken forward from Phase 1 of his Department's Biodegradable Plastic Carrier Bags Solutions through Innovation research call feasibility studies which concluded on 31 March 2014 in (a) Lot 1 and (b) Lot 2.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA has funded and taken forward two feasibility study projects in Lot 1 and two feasibility study projects in Lot 2 of this research call.

Rabbits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will issue updated advice on the care of pets to address the issues of the welfare and abandonment of domestic rabbits.

George Eustice: The poor welfare and abandonment of any animal is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 punishable by a fine of up to £5,000 or six months' imprisonment or both. The Government has no plans to issue specific advice on keeping pet rabbits but such advice is available from animal welfare organisations and some pet shops.

Water Companies

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of how the recommendations of the HM Treasury report entitled Smoothing Investment Cycles in the Water Sector, published in July 2012, have affected the water sector.

Dan Rogerson: Ofwat worked closely with HM Treasury and Infrastructure UK on the “Smoothing Investment Cycles in the Water Sector” report. In response to the recommendations of that report, Ofwat has continued to work with water companies and Infrastructure UK on action to address the up and down ‘cyclical investment’ that has affected the sector for many years.
	This change in approach has had tangible outcomes. For example, in responding to incentives that Ofwat introduced in its methodology for the price review, water companies have stated in their business plans (December 2013) that they are bringing forward around £440 million of investment into 2014-15 to smooth the investment profile. This investment will improve the delivery of service outcomes to customers, support the supply chain and enable efficient delivery.

Riot Control Weapons

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of the report entitled The medical implications of vehicle-mounted water cannon with special reference to the Ziegler Wasserwerfer 9000 (WaWe 9) system, published by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in 2013.

Damian Green: The report will be placed in the Library when the Home Secretary announces her decision on whether to authorise water cannon for use by the police in England and Wales.

Riot Control Weapons

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the report, the medical implications of vehicle-mounted water cannon with special reference to the Ziegler Wasserwerfer 9000 (WaWe 9) system, published by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in 2013;
	(2)  what information her Department holds on how many injuries have been associated with the use of water cannon in Northern Ireland;
	(3)  what steps she plans to take to ensure that the temperature of water within a water cannon tank is retained at five degrees Celsius;
	(4)  how many police officers in England are trained to use water cannon;
	(5)  what assessment she has made of the efficacy of the existing tactics in place for use of water cannon in Northern Ireland;
	(6)  if she will review the appropriateness of water cannon tactics used in Northern Ireland ahead of their possible use in London;
	(7)  what estimate she has made of the cost of updating awareness training for public order-trained staff operating alongside water cannon;
	(8)  if she will review the strategic policing requirement of water cannon based on planning assumptions around three spontaneous sets of disorder ahead of their deployment in London.

Damian Green: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has now received the request to authorise water cannon for use by the police in England and Wales. She is considering this request and will announce her decision in due course and lay the relevant information in the House Library.

Climate Change: IPCC Report

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of conclusions of the recent UN IPCC report on the effects of climate change on developing countries.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government welcomes the IPCC report. Climate change poses very serious consequences to human health, global food security, and can slow economic growth. Its impacts will be an extra burden for those living in poverty, and make it harder to reduce poverty in developing countries.

Bahrain

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Bahraini government calling for the release of Hussain Hubail on health grounds.

Hugh Robertson: We are aware of the case of Hussain Hubail. We understand he was detained in connection with charges related to protests on 14 August last year and that the verdict for his case is due to be issued later this month. We expect the Government of Bahrain to meet all of its human rights obligations, and to ensure that all detainees have access to appropriate medical care.

Bahrain

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on (a) the trial in Bahrain of Mohammed Abdulla Al-Tajer and (b) his treatment in custody.

Hugh Robertson: We are aware of the case of Mohammad Al-Tajer. We understand he spent four months in detention in 2011 before his case was moved from the National State Safety Court to the civilian courts, as recommended by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, where he was sentenced to one month in prison. We understand that he appealed the verdict and was acquitted by the High Appeal Civilian court. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to meet all of its human rights obligations, and adhere to international standards.

Christianity

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the Government is recommending on the UN Human Rights Council to tackle the persecution of Christians around the world.

William Hague: We welcomed the recent consensus adoption at the Human Rights Council of both the European Union's regular resolution on ‘freedom of religion or belief’ and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference's resolution on 'religious intolerance'. This gives the international community a valuable starting point on which to base discussions on how best to implement these resolutions in practice.
	Senior Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Warsi, is leading an international initiative to build up greater political support for practical measures to combat religious intolerance and promote the social and economic benefits of religious pluralism.

Italy

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Italian counterpart on the status of foreign lecturers in Italian universities.

David Lidington: The discrimination faced by UK and foreign national lecturers in Italy is unacceptable and illegal. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised the 'lettori' with the then Italian Foreign Minister, Emma Bonino, on 25 October 2013. I met the then Italian Europe Minister, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, on 19 November 2013, and stressed the importance of progress. I also met the Chairman of the Association of Foreign Lecturers in Italy (ALLSI), David Petrie, on 28 November 2013, and assured him of the Government's commitment to keep up the pressure on the Italian authorities. I raised the issue with Italian Deputy Foreign Minister, Marta Dassu, when I met her on 15 January. Most recently, the Minister for Universities and Science, my right hon. Friend the Member for Havant (Mr Willetts), has written to the new Italian Minister for Education, Research and Universities, Stefania Giannini, and underlined the importance of finding a solution.

Japan

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of Japan's lifting of its ban on arms exports on the UK.

Hugo Swire: The Japanese Government's new guidelines on arms exports have shifted the country's policy on arms exports from a de facto ban with occasional exceptions, to a set of principles governing the transfer overseas of defence equipment. This move is in line with Japan's National Security Strategy, published last year, and reflects the commitment of the Japanese Government to play a more active role in international peace and security, a commitment which the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), welcomed when he visited Tokyo in October 2013.
	The new principles which the Japanese Government have published make clear that Japan will implement its new export control regime in line with international treaty obligations, including the arms trade treaty, and UN Security Council resolutions. Applications will be subject to strict examination and transparency, and controls will be applied concerning extra-purpose use and third-party transfer.
	For the UK, the new export control principles may give rise to further opportunities for British defence companies to engage in co-development and joint production of defence equipment with Japanese partners. This builds on the UK-Japan Defence Equipment Cooperation Framework agreement signed by the Foreign Secretary with his Japanese counterpart in July 2013.

Russia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sanctions the UK has imposed on Russia since Russian troops entered Crimea.

David Lidington: The EU Foreign Affairs Council imposed asset freezes and visa bans on 33 named individuals, for actions that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. The UK has also frozen military cooperation with Russia, refused export licence requests, which may be used by the Russian military, and has postponed a number of planned Ministerial Summits. Along with other G7 members, the UK has withdrawn participation in the planned G8 Summit in Sochi in June, and will instead take part in a G7 meeting in Brussels.

Russia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on Russia's actions in Crimea.

David Lidington: In addition to ongoing dialogue at official level, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has discussed it with State Councillor Yang, and the Prime Minister has raised the situation in Ukraine with President Xi Jinping and State Councillor Yang Jiechi.

Russia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that Russia withdraws all of its forces from the Ukrainian border.

David Lidington: We are concerned by Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. We are clear that Russia has no legal basis or justification to enter Ukrainian territory and call on Russia to withdraw. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has highlighted these concerns to Foreign Minister Lavrov.

Ukraine

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to meet the Ukranian Foreign Minister; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), is in regular contact with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andriy Deshchytsia. He met him most recently on 31 March, in the margins of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Foreign Ministers' meeting. The Government will continue to maintain regular contact with the Government of Ukraine at all levels, to support their efforts to deal with the serious economic, political and security challenges that they are facing.

United Arab Emirates

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he or officials of his Department last raised the issue of torture of prisoners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the government of UAE.

Hugh Robertson: The Government unreservedly condemns the use of torture and urges all countries to comply with international law. Our close relationship with the UAE allows us to discuss sensitive issues, including human rights concerns, at every level.

Western Sahara

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on human rights monitoring in Western Sahara.

Hugh Robertson: The British Government has regular dialogue with the Moroccan authorities, including on Western Sahara. We encourage concrete progress towards improving human rights in Western Sahara, including effective human rights monitoring. I discussed this most recently during my visit to Rabat in March.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department last visited a private, voluntary or independent sector childcare setting in an official capacity.

Elizabeth Truss: Records show that the most recent visits undertaken to PVI provision by Ministers in the Department for Education are as follows.
	I visited Little Rainbows Day Nursery on 20 March 2014. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), visited Norwood Kennedy Leigh Family Centre in November 2013.
	It should be noted that we do not keep records of the specific business model of every nursery or childcare setting Ministers visit. Therefore, it is possible that other visits have been undertaken, details of which are not held centrally.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of average changes to childcare costs following the establishment of childminder agencies.

Elizabeth Truss: We are putting in place legislation to enable organisations to register as child minder agencies (CMAs) in order to increase the number of child minders available and improve choice and affordability for parents, as part of reforms to increase the supply of childcare places.

Gender

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the (a) level of government funding for and (b) effect of research undertaken to date into gender differences in brain development and functioning.

David Willetts: The Government has not made an assessment of the level of funding or effect of research in this area.

Land Registry

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many responses he has received to the consultation on the introduction of a Land Registry service delivery company; and how many of those were in favour of the proposals.

Michael Fallon: We are currently considering all consultation responses. The Government response to the consultation will set out the main issues raised by respondents and how the Government intends to address these issues.

Local Growth Fund

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria is used to assess bids from local enterprise partnerships for the Local Growth Fund.

Michael Fallon: The criteria the Government will be using to assess Strategic Economic Plans and bids for the Local Growth Fund were published in July 2013. There are 3 key criteria: ambition and rationale, value for money and delivery and risk. The most successful LEPs will have strong, deliverable Strategic Economic Plans, evidenced by strong partnership working; robust arrangements for accountability; and effective collaboration across Local Enterprise Partnership geography. These LEPs will earn a greater share of the Local Growth Fund.

Plastic Bags

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the Government's policy is on the European Commission's proposed amendments to Article 4 of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, relating to reducing consumption of lightweight, less frequently re-used plastic bags with a thickness below 50 microns.

Michael Fallon: The UK Government welcomes the flexibility the European Commission proposal offers. We will seek to limit the derogation to the single market as far as possible to what is necessary to allow measures to be taken on lightweight carrier bags.

Public Houses

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what timetable he has adopted for the introduction of a Statutory Code and Adjudicator in the public house sector.

Jennifer Willott: Between April and June 2013 the Government consulted on proposals to establish a statutory Code of Practice and an independent Adjudicator, which are aimed at supporting pub tenants. The Government received over one thousand one hundred written responses to the consultation on pub companies and their tenants and over seven thousand responses to the online survey conducted in parallel. We are considering the evidence carefully, to ensure that intervention is both proportionate and targeted, and we intend to publish a Government Response to the consultation as soon as we can.

Taxation: Environment Protection

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been disbursed in compensation for the carbon price floor in each month since April 2013.

Michael Fallon: The Government is waiting for state aid approval from the European Commission for the carbon price floor compensation scheme. We expect to get a final decision later this month and we are hopeful that we will be able to commence the scheme shortly thereafter.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will review his decision not to carry out a cumulative impact assessment on the effect of welfare reform on people with disability.

Michael Penning: The Government regularly produces analysis of the cumulative impact of all coalition changes, including welfare, on households across the income distribution. This information is produced by the Treasury and is published alongside every Budget and Autumn Statement, in the interests of transparency. The previous Government did not provide this type of analysis. The most recent update was published with the Budget on 19 March 2014, and can be found using the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293738/budget_2014_distributional_analysis.pdf
	Distributional analysis is provided for the whole population on the basis of household income and household expenditure. However this is not disaggregated to the level of household characteristics such as disability status or lower level geographies. No organisation is able to do this robustly.
	This analysis estimates the effect of coalition measures from all fiscal events from the Budget in June 2010 to the Budget in 2014. It also includes changes that were announced before the Budget in June 2010 that have been implemented by this Government. Current coalition policies are compared with what might have happened if the previous Government's policies had continued into the future without any further fiscal consolidation.
	The Government currently has no plans to undertake a review or change the decision on cumulative impact assessments.